I plan to teach William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. One of the things that drew me to this play in particular as an educational text is the argumentative language and strong thematic ties to the modern day. The language of the text, as in most of Shakespeare’s plays, is rich with literary devices, and the famous playwright presents this play with such strength and technicality that it makes it an ideal text to really take the time to explore with students. I want to center the unit not only on themes that run through the text--themes of power and betrayal--but to focus on the language as it’s own character. The language of this play drives the plot, playing a unique role that students are able to explore without being forced to approach it skeptically. While literary devices like characterization and theme are major components of any story, they create a sensation of being put at arms length from the text, rather than diving into it and truly understanding it. It is my hope that students that participate in this unit will come out of it with a greater understanding and appreciation for Shakespeare that they may not have possessed in the past. They will relate to the characters of the play in an interesting way, recognizing their own modern tactics in the speech of these characters that have been around for centuries. The story of Julius Caesar is a valuable one that I believe is worth teaching because it is so relevant to the situation of so many high school students. There will be students in my class who have felt betrayal, or have felt “stabbed in the back” by someone that they considered their friend, and those students will learn to deal with their situations by hearing the stories of other, albeit fictional, figures. I would like to explore characterization in the sense that one’s public persona is very different from the private persona, which could also lend itself to a thematic reading. There are also some opportunities to read the text through the feminist lens. I do not want to push just one aspect of the text onto students, so I will utilize different techniques to ensure the students get the most out of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. The most exciting thing about teaching any Shakespeare play is that you are able to see real growth in students over time as they begin to understand that--underneath the intimidating language--there are commonalities between the characters and their own lives.
I plan to teach William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. One of the things that drew me to this play in particular as an educational text is the argumentative language and strong thematic ties to the modern day. The language of the text, as in most of Shakespeare’s plays, is rich with literary devices, and the famous playwright presents this play with such strength and technicality that it makes it an ideal text to really take the time to explore with students.
I want to center the unit not only on themes that run through the text--themes of power and betrayal--but to focus on the language as it’s own character. The language of this play drives the plot, playing a unique role that students are able to explore without being forced to approach it skeptically. While literary devices like characterization and theme are major components of any story, they create a sensation of being put at arms length from the text, rather than diving into it and truly understanding it.
It is my hope that students that participate in this unit will come out of it with a greater understanding and appreciation for Shakespeare that they may not have possessed in the past. They will relate to the characters of the play in an interesting way, recognizing their own modern tactics in the speech of these characters that have been around for centuries.
The story of Julius Caesar is a valuable one that I believe is worth teaching because it is so relevant to the situation of so many high school students. There will be students in my class who have felt betrayal, or have felt “stabbed in the back” by someone that they considered their friend, and those students will learn to deal with their situations by hearing the stories of other, albeit fictional, figures.
I would like to explore characterization in the sense that one’s public persona is very different from the private persona, which could also lend itself to a thematic reading. There are also some opportunities to read the text through the feminist lens. I do not want to push just one aspect of the text onto students, so I will utilize different techniques to ensure the students get the most out of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. The most exciting thing about teaching any Shakespeare play is that you are able to see real growth in students over time as they begin to understand that--underneath the intimidating language--there are commonalities between the characters and their own lives.